Colorado agricultural producers are encouraged to be part of the 2021 Farm Fresh Directory, published annually by the Colorado Department of Agriculture. The directory, which will be released in June, promotes Colorado farmers’ markets, roadside stands, u-picks, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) producers, agritourism activities, wineries, and farms and ranches that sell direct to the public.

“Farm Fresh is a popular and helpful resource for Colorado residents and visitors,” said Danielle Trotta, Business Development Specialist at the Colorado Department of Agriculture. “The goal of the publication is to connect consumers to local producers, farmers markets, and other local goods all in one easy place.” 

More than 100,000 copies of the directory will be distributed to consumers through libraries, extension offices, farmers’ markets, welcome centers, chambers of commerce, home milk delivery services and other businesses. Additionally, Farm Fresh is available as a mobile app for smartphones and on the Colorado Department of Agriculture website.

The fee to be included in the directory is $25, and the listing deadline is February 15, 2021. The listing form can be accessed here. For more information, contact Loretta Lopez at 303-869-9175.

SPREAD THE NEWS

COMMENT, Like, Follow & SHARE @I70Scout

CURRENT EDITION

WEATHER & TRAFFIC    PUZZLES    RECENT NEWS    ADVERTISE WITH US

 

 

MONTROSE, Colo. — Conservation biologists at Colorado Parks and Wildlife are charged with keeping a close eye on sensitive wildlife – animals that sometimes are classified as “species of greatest conservation need” by the agency. One of those species is the Southern White-tailed Ptarmigan.

CPW biologists become alerted when a conservation organization asks the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to place an animal on the federal endangered species list. If that animal’s range includes Colorado, a team of CPW biologists put together a plan to study the species to determine how it’s doing here and to present the research to the federal agency for review. The process can take several years.

Recently, a Colorado study of the Southern White-tailed Ptarmigan was used by the USFWS to decide that the iconic bird does not need special protections under the federal Endangered Species Act. The study showed that populations of ptarmigan are holding steady throughout the mountains of Colorado.

“We have widespread distribution of ptarmigan across the state in suitable habitat,” said Amy Seglund, a conservation biologist based in Montrose who coordinated the study. “Not much has changed in their distribution across the alpine ecosystem since they were first studied in the 1960s and 1970s by CPW agency biologists.”

But even with the positive assessment, Seglund said a close eye must be kept on the species because of continuing pressure from climate change and human activity in their alpine habitat.

In 2010, a conservation group sent a petition to the USFWS asking that the bird be added to the endangered species list. To help determine if the request was valid, CPW started initial field work in 2011 to evaluate distribution. More formal population assessment took place from 2013-2017.

The full CPW report on the bird’s status was completed in 2018 and the USFWS issued its “not warranted for listing” conclusion on Dec. 2.

“We follow rigorous scientific protocols in our species conservation assessments” said

David Klute, CPW’s species conservation unit supervisor. “This study took on a

statewide focus and the report was peer reviewed to guarantee its integrity. The ‘not

warranted’ decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recognized the thoroughness

of our work and the quality of the information it provided.”

Ptarmigan live year-round from about 9,500 feet elevation and above, so studying these well camouflaged birds is challenging ─ to say the least. Basically, this is how the research method works: Seglund examined previous studies to identify locations the bird occupied. Next, using geographic information, she identified all of the bird’s potential habitat ─ which in Colorado is, essentially, all the millions of acres above timberline.

Using a computer program, 60 sites were selected randomly and field staff went to those locations to look for birds. Some sites were in easy-to-reach alpine basins while others were deep in the wilderness that required field staff to make multiple-day excursions. Each survey location measured 4 kilometers by 5 kilometers.

“Most of the sites required us to navigate steep terrain, it certainly got us in shape,” Seglund said.

At the sites, because the birds are so well camouflaged, the researchers played a recording of male birds and chick calls to help detect the ptarmigan. Seeing birds indicated occupancy. To get more thorough population data, they trapped and placed tiny leg bands on 637 birds. Fortunately, Seglund said, ptarmigan are relatively easy to trap because they stay in place when approached, relying on their camouflage for cover. They also can tolerate being handled by humans.

Leg bands provided researchers an opportunity to evaluate abundance of ptarmigan. The bands also helped Seglund assess whether birds returned to the same breeding sites each year and selected the same mate.

Radio transmitters were placed on 126 birds over the course of the study which allowed field staff to find females later on their nests. There they could see how many eggs the hens had produced, how many hatched and track how many chicks survived. The transmitters also allowed the researchers to determine annual and seasonal survival rates of individuals.

It’s a tough go to make a living above timberline, so not many chicks survive ─ less than one in nests that average 5.46 eggs. They are most often picked off by predators or sometimes killed in big weather events when they are not in close contact with their mothers. At about 10-14 days old the chicks can fly. If they make it to that age they have a good chance of surviving to become an adult bird and begin to breed.

The field work was rigorous and covered not only several years but also required multiple visits to the same site: Each was checked three times over the course of the breeding cycle from nesting to brood-rearing to fledging of the young. Aerial surveys were used during winter to assess survival of radio-collared birds.

Seglund said she is pleased by the study results.

“I was surprised how many birds we found at many of the sites, they’re a very resilient species,” Seglund said.

Yet, despite the solid and widely dispersed populations, Seglund is concerned about the increasing dangers the birds face. One of those is the pressure of human recreation. While they seem to tolerate some human activity, the birds are less capable of handling constant recreational pressure. In the uber-popular Ice Lakes area near Silverton, the ptarmigan disappeared during the course of the study from the narrow alpine meadow through which dozens of hikers pass each day during the warm months.

The other concern: increasing temperatures on the alpine tundra that are accompanying climate change. Ptarmigan are well-known for turning white during the winter and taking shelter beneath the snow. During summer their plumage becomes a mottled brown so they can blend into the landscape. During the warm months they can be found near persistent snowfields foraging and taking snow baths. What they need most during the summer is the moisture and cool temperatures that historically have accompanied the monsoons. But during the last few years the monsoons have been absent, temperatures on the tundra have soared and Seglund worries that the birds are having difficulty handling the heat.

Seglund wrote in the report that CPW and other agencies should develop a long-term program to monitor ptarmigan activity and changes in the alpine environment:

“Agencies must work together to limit disturbances in the alpine and mitigate those that currently exist. Environments are changing with many unknown consequences on the horizon, thus it is imperative for CPW to continue to monitor and work with agencies to manage this iconic alpine species for future generations to enjoy.”

For those reasons, Seglund plans to conduct limited survey work during summers to check on the Ptarmigan.

Seglund is a dedicated scientist who specializes in species that live in the alpine environment. These tundra dwellers hold a special place in her heart.

“It’s amazing to me how a bird that weighs just 350 grams (less than a pound), can live year around at that altitude,” she said. “And they always seem so at peace in their surroundings.”

 

 

SPREAD THE NEWS

COMMENT, Like, Follow & SHARE @I70Scout

CURRENT EDITION

WEATHER & TRAFFIC    PUZZLES    RECENT NEWS    ADVERTISE WITH US

 

Featured Image: A Colorado River cutthroat trout suffering from BKD. Photo by John Drennan

DENVER, Colo. – While many fish diseases have declined in recent years due to good management practices, cases of bacterial kidney disease (BKD) seem to be increasing in the western U.S. The disease is caused by the bacteria Renibacterium salmoninarum, which is common in cold water streams and lakes. The disease is characterized by the presence of grayish-white abscesses in the kidney and can cause death in both wild and hatchery trout.

After negative tests in the Colorado fish hatchery system for 18 years, in 2015 four state hatcheries, one federal hatchery, and a wild broodstock lake tested positive for the disease. An outbreak at one hatchery cost over $2.1 million and impacted fish management statewide with the loss of over 675,000 sport fish. In 2017, a statewide sampling effort led by CPW Research Scientist Dan Kowalski found the bacteria was common in trout habitat statewide, but generally occurred at low levels and only rarely caused outbreaks of disease in the wild. These recent detections of R. salmoninarum in hatcheries and wild fish populations in Colorado have generated additional questions about presence and infection intensity in trout and caused managers to revisit best management practices in hatcheries.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife has partnered with Colorado State University Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and Ph.D. student Tawni Riepe to investigate important aspects of BKD in Colorado. Her work, while still ongoing, has already produced some interesting results. In one experiment, fish were caged in a water known to have fish infected with R. salmoninarumto look at direct bacterial transfer between infected and non-infected fish (a process known as horizontal transmission). The trial lasted for 90 days and involved 320 caged cutthroat trout. Only one fish tested positive for the bacteria that causes BKD, demonstrating that horizontal transmission was low under these conditions but occurred in a relatively short amount of time. A second experiment was designed to look at transmission from an infected fish to its offspring (known as vertical transmission). Early results confirm that eggs reared from fish infected with R. salmoninarum may have varying levels of the bacteria depending on the degree of infection within the parents.

“Understanding how the bacteria that causes BKD is transmitted from fish to fish or fish to egg to fish, is important to figuring out how to minimize the spread of the bacteria and the disease among hatchery and wild fish populations,” commented Riepe.

Another focus of Riepe’s research is to compare and improve testing methods to detect the bacteria that causes BKD. The goal is to determine the best way to test fish, what test to use, and if non-lethal tests can be developed to test fish without sacrificing them. Just like testing for human pathogens that cause disease, like COVID-19, there are several ways to detect bacteria in fish. A technique called quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) can be used to detect the DNA of the pathogen and to determine the intensity of infection in fish. Another approach is to test for antigens, proteins on the surface of the pathogen that a fish host uses to produce antibodies that attack the bacteria. Riepe, in collaboration with Dr. John Drennan, a Senior Fish Pathologist with CPW, is also working on methods to evaluate if currently healthy fish have been previously infected with the bacteria by testing for antibody production. All of these methods have their strengths and weaknesses, and this important research will help identify the best methods to test for the bacteria that causes BKD in Colorado trout populations. Current results indicate that using qPCR to test the mucus, kidney, and liver tissue of the fish produced the best results and, in several cases, the non-lethal test of a fish’s mucus produced similar results to more traditional organ tissue tests.

A final component of the research is to explore how the disease may impact wild trout populations. Brook trout are known to be particularly susceptible to R. salmoninarum infections that can lead to BKD, so Riepe and her colleagues are studying several brook trout populations in high elevation streams and lakes to determine if varying levels of the bacteria might affect age, growth and survival of the fish.

Riepe is also working closely with Dr. Eric Fetherman, an Aquatic Research Scientist from CPW, to conduct this important work and is being advised at CSU by Dr. Dana Winkelman. Together they hope to make some headway in the management of this disease to benefit fish populations and anglers of Colorado.

“Tawni’s work with R. salmoninarum represents some of the most comprehensive research conducted in inland trout populations and will not only benefit the State’s wild and hatchery-reared cutthroat trout populations and the anglers of Colorado, but also further contribute to our knowledge of bacterial kidney disease in the United States and worldwide,” said Fetherman.

“Collaborating with CPW has been one of the highlights of my Ph.D. experience,” Riepe said. “Not only has the expertise that lies within the agency’s biologists, hatchery managers, and aquatic researchers enhanced all the planning and executing of these research projects, but the support and advice I have received from everyone I am directly working with or behind the scenes has been unmeasurable and I am completely humbled.”

Additional photos: 

Dr. Eric Fetherman with blood serum collected from a cutthroat trout to test for antibodies produced in response to an infection by R. Salmoninarum

Tawni Riepi and CPW Technician Crosby Vail setting gill nets at Eagle Lake to collect brook trout to determine the effects of R. Salmoninarum bacteria in wild trout populations.

SPREAD THE NEWS

COMMENT, Like, Follow & SHARE @I70Scout

CURRENT EDITION

WEATHER & TRAFFIC    PUZZLES    RECENT NEWS    ADVERTISE WITH US